Pedestal Fans of various sizes have been used for many years. The normal use of a pedestal fan is to provide a cooling sensation to the body. This is accomplished by the current of air generated by the fan or air-moving device passing over the skin of an individual. The current of air that passes over an individual serves to increase the convective heat loss of the body through the natural evaporative process of moisture (e.g. sweat) on the skin. The greater the amount of evaporation the greater the sensation of cooling. The upper portion of the body is more exposed, (head, arms, hands, etc.). This allows the upper portion of the body to experience a greater cooling sensation as the body attempts to naturally dissipate heat through evaporation.
As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional pedestal fan 10 is specifically designed to augment this effect on the upper portion of the body by locating the air generation device at a level above the floor that corresponds to the upper portion of the body. In pedestal fan 10, an air flow 12 is created by axial fan assembly 14 (comprising fan head 16, fan blade 18, front grill 20 and rear grill 22). Axial fan assembly 14 is set above the floor by pedestal 24 and stabilized by base 28 such that air flow 12 can be positioned above the floor to provide comfort to the upper portion of user 26. The exhaust air pattern of a conventional pedestal fan is illustrated in FIG. 17B. A discussion of this pattern in comparison with the present invention is outlined in the detailed description below.
The size of the air delivery device (axial fan assembly 14) in conventional pedestal fan 10 is large due to the diameter of axial blade 18, further requiring additional large guards (grills) 20, 22, to protect the end user 26 from blade 18. In addition, and as shown in FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C, conventional pedestal fan 10 requires significant oscillation area 29, at least as large, if not larger, than the diameter of the grills 20, 22, so that the cooling effect can be distributed into the living space (not shown). In addition, because of the size and weight distribution of fan assembly 14 and the thrust T (shown in FIG. 1) generated in the direction opposite air flow 12, base 28 must be sufficiently large, (dimension PB) to support fan assembly 14 to prevent tipping. The size of both oscillation area 29 and base 28 require that pedestal fan 10 utilize a large area in the living space.
Another fan that attempts to augment this upper body cooling effect is what is commonly referred to as a conventional tower fan. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, tower fans 30a, 30b create an elongated air delivery area 32a, 32b toward a lower portion of user 26 and, thus, are unable to provide a desired cooling effect to the upper body of user 26. The exhaust air pattern of a conventional tower fan is illustrated in FIG. 17C. A discussion of this pattern in comparison with the present invention is outlined in the detailed description below.
Another disadvantage with this type of tower fan is that the long impeller and accompanying housing complicate overall assembly and manufacturing. For example, the long transverse air impeller may have several sections which must be coupled together by glue or ultrasonic welding. This long air impeller assembly must then be balanced to insure correct operation and may also necessitate the use of vibration dampers on the motor. In addition, a long transverse air impeller assembly tends to become misaligned at the top bearing, thereby requiring a special bearing mounted in rubber pads to compensate for this misalignment. The overall weight of the long transverse impeller and accompanying housing create structural and stability problems as height above a mounting surface is increased. The above mentioned problems add significant expense to the manufacturing process and limit the maximum height of the conventional tower fan, which translates into a higher retail price and less than satisfactory performance for the consumer.
In addition to the aforementioned deficiencies, typical conventional pedestal fan 10 requires a significant amount of packaging material as well as space for shipment to the ultimate destination. As shown in FIG. 4A, conventional pedestal fan 10 is shipped to the user in a disassembled form in shipping box 40. Typically, shipping box 40 is stacked with many other shipping boxes 40 on pallet 42 (shown in FIG. 4B) with multiple pallets 42 shipped together in an overland or over water shipping container 44, (shown in FIG. 4C). Due to its large size, the number of pedestal fans 10 that may be contained within shipping container 44 is typically about 864 units.
The packaging of conventional tower fan 30b is illustrated in FIG. 5A. Similar to package 40, package 50 containing tower fan 30b has a significant volume, albeit slightly less than that of pedestal fan 10. FIGS. 5B and 5C illustrate the shipping efficiency of this configuration, shipping container 44 having a capacity of about 1320 units.
Thus, the costs for shipping of these fan units impact the ultimate price at which a manufacturer may sell his product to a distributor or retailer.
In view of these deficiencies, there is a need for a fan that has a space saving configuration and provides comfort to an upper portion of a user's body.
In addition there is a need for a fan with a simplified construction, which is easily manufactured and reduces the overall cost per unit.
There is also a need for a fan construction which is easily packaged and shipped in a manner that reduces shipping and handling costs per unit.